The director

Susan Lutz lived as a full-time resident in Costa Rica. Soon after arriving in Costa Rica, she began a hosting, producing, and editing a short story program for an International radio station that broadcast from Costa Rica. Within the year, she began producing, editing, and hosting another program, an hour long interview show called A Woman’s Voice. She interviewed women from Costa Rica and around the world on their personal and global struggles to find peace.

She worked as a freelance writer in Costa Rica. Her interest in writing and radio production led to a desire to produce a documentary film, a genre of film she admires. She began producing short films for businesses and stretched that interest into searching for a subject that would be a good fit for a documentary. Lutz approached Steven Hawkins and Gail Nystrom after attending an event in La Carpio, Costa Rica and asked them to keep her in mind if an interesting story line ever came up. Several months later, the filming of The Coffee Dance began.

Lutz managed all aspects of the film from camera work to production to editing. It is her hope this film reaches a wide audience to raise awareness about the every day coffee we take for granted and those who bring it to our tables. She's also excited to spread the word about the great work done by the groups involved in the production of the play: The Costa Rican Humaniarian Foundation and Dramatic Problem Solving. Fantastic work happening in Costa Rica that can teach the world how to plant seeds of hope and change. Introducing a larger audience is the next focus of The Coffee Dance mission. #thecoffeedancefilm.

Lutz wrote a website called Motherjungle about international living for years, which GlobalPost called one of the top five in Costa Rica. In 2010, she was invited to be part of a visual arts project, which includes stories and videos productions from 11 women and their journey on personal transformation and self-empowerment.

Susan writes about parenting, life, and special needs children in her blog, nomorenicegirl.com. She has two children. Her son, who was born with Down syndrome, is a special inspiration for the film.